Flying-machine.



G. E. DIGKSON. FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 11, 1908. 1,073,334. Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. E. DIGKSON. 'PLYIN G MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEO.11, 190a.

Patented Sept. 16,1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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'GEOGBGE E. DICKSON, OF NEW LENOi-X, ILLINOIS.

FLYING- IVIACHEQE.

To all 2071-0711, 2725 may-concern Be it known that I, Gnome E. Bronson,

acitizemof the United States, and a resident ject of my invention is to so utilize such principle that the rapid fall of -an object shall not alone be prevented, but the lifting of said object and forward movement shell be accomplished.

Another principle that desire and expect to utilize --is that which is evidenced in a birds wing, wherein the feathers overlap =one upon the other, closing together upon the downward stroke of ithe wing and opening to permit the passage of air through the wing on its upward stroke.

- My invention consists in a fiying :machine which comprises a body part or ear eontaining a *motor, in combination with two or more combined pwrachutes and planes arranged above the body upon suitable stems or frames that are arranged for reciprocation by said motor. Each'parachute :memher *is composed of a suitable frame having a -covering'that is valvular, that is, made up of a large number of .'feather-'like or flap parts, that are adapted to fall or open on the upward stroke o f the parachute and are adapted to close one upon theother on the downward stroke of the parachute, whereby, as the parachute is elevated with Irela- 'tion :to said body, air will, so-to speak, 'be taken into or beneath the parachute, with .a minimum of resistance to-.its'motiun,and, as the parachute is moved downwardly, will "be compressed beneath the parachute, :thereby tending to elevate the body. The panachutes operate in opposite directions, that is, as one is elevated, the other is :drawn down, with the result that one *or the other exerts its force upon the air at all times, to sustain the suspended body.

Myinvention also consists in a flyingmachine of the "foregoing description, so eon structed 'andequipped 'that its !paraehutes may'ibe adjusted at desired inclinations with "respect to the line of perpendicular Specification 61 Letters Patent.

Application filed December 11, 1908. -SeriaLNorfl6'Zfld9.

ratenteasept. at, rate.

suspension of the body, to cause the moveanent off machinees a Whole in a for- Ward directionpor to intenrupt such :forward movement, the parachutes then operating as aeroplanes.

My invention also consists in novel constructions which l have worked out for car- :rying my invention into effect, all of which will flee readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this -specification, and in which Figure 1, is an end elevation of a flying machine embodying any invention; 2, is a longitudinal and vertical elevation of the same, showing the panachutes broken away, or sectioned to disclose the arrangement of the internal parts in the same; Fig. .3, is an enlanged detail section of the top of one of the parachutes, i'llustrating the construc- 'tion thereezf and the arrangement of the flaps or valves; :Fig. 4, is an enlarged detail 02f the de vi'c'e for adjusting the inclination :of .a. arachute and for maintaining such an zinciination at will-t; Fig. 5, is an end elevation'of the parts .shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6, is a detail of one of :the end valves or gates. Fig. 7 ie a plan view of the earbody showing the location of the engine and connecting parts. F19; '8 -1s an enlarged View in detail of the mechanism aforoperating the parachutes.

In said drawings, 2, represents the body of the machine above referred to. -This body is made as light as possible, and carries 51111611161101, 3,-employed for propelling or reciprocating the parachutes. The -body, 2, has anupward-entension, i,':equipped with a guide, 5, at its :upper'end, which guide carries the reciprocating stems or frames, 6 and 7,:that-ha ng from the parachutes, 8 and "9, "respectively. The motor, 3, (preferably a gasolcne engine) drives two slow-motion jack shafts, 10 and 11, whichin turn drive two vertically disposed chain belts, '6 and 7, the upper sprocket Wheels of which are held by shaifts 4' and #i'flin the upper part of the extension, 4L. Theblts, i6 and :7,

are connected to -respective frames, 6 and 7, by :means 'of'the connecting rcds, 6 and 7", respectively and the frames *8 and 7 being secured to the chains *6 and 7 by means of the ccnne'cting rods 6" and 7 are reciproeated "by the travel of rthe chains :6 and, 7'.

Hit will he noticed by reference to Fig. 1

that ithe connecting din-list" and =7" are at lower It. will be observed that the body is ,sus

pended from the parachutes through the medium of the jack shafts of the motor, and therefore the lifting tendency-of the parachutes eifectsthe elevation or stepping upward and forward of the whole structure.

The parachutes may, if desired, be of circular construction, but I much prefer to employ elongated or oblong parachutes, substantially twice as long as they are wide. The upper parachute may be made larger than the lower one, to compensate for the blanketing effect of the lower parachute where the parachutes are closed together. Said parachutesare of peculiar construction in that each comprises a light, preferably metallic frame, 12, that is stayed by a large number of tie-rods, 14, that extend to a cross-frame or brace, 15. Furthermore, these parachute frames are pivoted on the ipper ends of respective frames, 6 and 7 in order that the parachutes may be inclined with relation to the normally perpendicular positions of said frames, 6 and 7.

The top of each parachute is preferably composed of light wire-cloth, 16, of comparatively coarse mesh, and tied or braced across the top by a plurality of tapes or bands, 17. To the under side of this wireploth top I attach a very large number of flexible flaps or feathers, 18. These may be of cloth and may be sewed or stitched directly to the wire-cloth, 16. I preferably arrang the flaps longitudinally, but it is obvious that they may occupy any other or divers positions within the top of the parachute.

In order that the lower parachute, 9, may be tilted with respect to the frame, 7, of the upper parachute, I preferably provide said parachute with flexible cloth closures, 19, that fit in around the sides of the frame, 6, at its upper end. i

As before stated, the parachutes are pivoted on their respective frames, 6 and 7, and I preferably provide each parachute frame with stops, 20, to engage the corresponding stops, 21, on the reciprocating frame and prevent excessive inclination of the parachutes.

For inclining, tilting or dipping the parachutes at will, I provide the parachute frame with a downwardly-extending lever end, 22, and attached to it the cords, 23, on the opposite sides, passing the cords down through the tubular frame to a point where they may be operated by the person in the car.

It will be'observed that the pivotal centers of the parachutes are considerably below the planes of the parachute frames. My object in thus placing the pivots is to make the parachutes self centering or balancing,

in case of accident to the cords, 23. In other words, if the cords are freed, either intentionally or by breakage, the parachute a connected therewith will instantly assume a perpendicular position with respect to its reciprocating frame, 6, thus affording safety, as the machine even if disabled would fall slowly, operating like an ordinary parachute.

The parachutes possess the form of an inverted trough, and for closing the ends thereof I preferably use the gates, 25. These gates are pivoted within the parachute frames, and are arranged for automatic operation; to close and open when the parachutes are inclined or tilted. The means used to attain this end are simple cords, 26, that extend from the gates to a point on the reciprocating frames below the respective parachute pivots, whereby the 1nclination of the parachute causes the gates to open, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in full lines in Fig. 6. When the gates assume this position, air may pass through the parachutes, and said arachutes will operate as do the wings of a ird, and also in a manner similar to the action of an aeroplane.

From an analysis of the forces and the arrangement of parts, and from comparison with what is known of the operation of a birds wing during flight, I conclude that the operation of my flying machine will be substantially as follows :When the machine rests upon the ground and the motor is started, the parachutes will be set into motion, and will be reciprocated at the rate of from 50 to several hundred strokes per minute, according to the capacity of the motor and the weight of the parts to be manipulated. Upon the first upward stroke of a parachute, it will be lifted without displacing the air above it, as the air will flow freely through the valves of the parachute. On the stroke, the valves of the parachute will close, and the inertia of the air beneath the parachute will be such that the parachute will remain substantially stationary, and the motor will therefore tend to elevate the body and the other parachute. When the second parachute is elevated, it Wlll pass freely through the air and then rest there on, causin another upward movement of the body. hese actions are repeated many times during a minute, and I assume that the machine will be rapidly elevated. When a suitable altitude has been attained and it isdesired to move forward, the parachutes Will be slightly inclied or tilted by means of the cords provided for the purpose, after .whichthe operation of the parachutes will tend to expel air from one end of the machine, and the resistance to said movement of the air causes the forward first downward it is obvious that the r or back.

As various modifications of my inventlon will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art I do not confine the invention to the specific structure herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire. to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A flying machine comprising a body part or car 1n combination with the motor in said car, two or more parachutes arranged one above the other above said car, stems or frames connecting said parachutes with said motor, for operation thereby, said parachutes being longitudinally elongated and transversely curved, and means for independentl inclining said parachutes, substantially as described.

2. In a flying machine, a car in combination with the motor in said car, vertically reciprocatable frames suitably guided in the car structure, reciprocating means op.- eratively interposed between said] frames for reciprocatingsaid frames in opposite directions, longitudinally elongated and ransversely curved parachutes arranged one above the other and connected with the respective frames and means for independently inclining said parachutes with respect to their frames, substantially" as described.

3. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with ipcip-rocating frames vertically disposed and slidable in the structure of" said car, a motor secured to.

the car structure and connected with said frames to reciprocate the same in opposite directions, longitudlnally straight, transversely curved parachutes wherefrom the respective frames are suspended, gates or flanges in the ends of said parachutes and means for inclining isaid parachutes with respect to their frames and for opening and closing said gates, substantially as described.

4. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with reciprocating frames vertically disposed and slidable in the structure of said car, a motor secured to the car structure and connected with said frames to reciprocate the samein opposite directions, longitudinally straight, transin the air and toward versely curved parachutes wherefrom the respective frames are suspended, gates 01 flanges in the ends of said parachutes and automatic means for opening said gates as the parachutesare inclined and closing the same as the parachutes are restored to pen pendicular relation to said frames.

5. A flying machine comprising the ear in combination with vertically reciprocative frames, a motor fixed in said car, re c-iprooating means connecting said motor with said frames, parachutes connected with the respective frames, gates or flanges provided in the ends of said parachutes and means for opening and closing said gates, substantially as described.

6. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with vertically reciprocating frames, a motor in the car, reciprocating means connecting motor and frames, parachutes arranged one above the other and connected with said frames, being longitudinally straight and transversely curved, flanges in the ends thereof and the sustaining surfaces or diaphragms ofsaid rality of flexible vertically movable valves adapted toopen on upward movement and to close on downward movement of t-hepara chutes, substantially as described.

Z. in a flying machine, a plurality of longitudinally straight, transversely curved parachutes having their sustaining surfaces or diaphrag-ms composed of many upwardly closing and downwardly openlng valves, and end gates in said parachutes, substantially as described. 8. In a flying machine a parachute comprlslng a longitudinally straight and trans-- versely curved frame in combination with valves provided in the ends of said frame and a plurality ofdownwardly opening and upwardly closing valves attached to said frame, conformed thereto and constituting the sustaining surface of the parachute, substantially as described. Y

9. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with vertically oreclprocating said parachutes parachutes being composed of a pluframes guided in said car, a motor in said car, vertical chains-driven by said motor, connecting rods joining the same to therespective rames, parachutes arranged one above the other and connected with the respective frames, means for inclining said parachutes with relation to said car, valves in the ends of said parachutes. and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

10. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with verti ally reciprocating frames guided in'said car, a motor in said car, vertical chains driven by said motor, connecting rods joining the same to the respective frames, parachutes arranged one above the other and connected with the re spective frames, means for inclining said parachutes with relation to said car,'va1ves in the ends of said parachutes, each said parachute having a foraininous top and many downwardly opening and upwardly closing valves adapted to close against said top, substantially as described.

11. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with a motor in said car, framesvertically slidablein said car, reciprocating connections interposed between said frames and said motor, parachutes pivotally attached to the upper ends of frames at points below the bottoms of said parachutes valves secured in the ends of said parachutes, means for operating said valves and means for tilting said parachutes, substantially as described.

12. A flying machine comprising a pair of longitudinally elongated, transversely curved, substantially rectangular parachute frames one above the other arranged for reciprocation, in combination with a plurality of downwardly opening and upwardly closing valves constituting the sustaining surface of the parachute and means for controlling the escape of air laterally from beneath the parachute, substantially as described.

13. A flying machine comprising a pair of longitudinally elongated, transversely curved, substantially rectangular parachute frames, one above the other arranged for reciprocation in combination with a plurality of downwardly opening and upwardly-closing valves constituting the sustaining surface of the parachute, means preventing the escape of air laterally beneath the paras chute and means governing the longitudinal movement of air beneath the parachute, substantially as described.

14. A flying machine comprising a car in combination with a pair of frames, arranged for vertical reciprocation, means for supporting said frames in vertical position from said car, a pair of vertically movable chains arranged in said car, rods connecting the said reciprocative frames to the said vertically movable chains,\means on said car for driving said chains, parachutes secured to the ends of the respective frames, said parachutes comprising a longitudinally straight transversely curved frame covered with netting, valves arranged 1n the ends of said parachutes, means operable from the car body for tilting said parachutes, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 4th day of December, 1908, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE E. DICKSON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES GILBERT HAWLEY,

M. SIMON. 

